This week I chose to read Visual Literacy, an article about “broadening conceptualizations of literacy” and extending that view to the visual and communicative arts. The article began with a brief account of a young girl’s day as she woke up in the morning until she stepped into her classroom. In that short time frame, Maria, the second grade girl was surrounded by sounds, images, and movement by means of television, music, billboard advertisements, hand-held video games, expressive dance, read-alouds, and computers. There is no doubt in my mind that technology plays a significant role in the lives of all people, especially young people. “Technology, which has ranged from chunks of charcoal to the latest in video and sound electronic transmission, has always mediated the visual and communicative arts and provided socialization in the ways of using them” (Flood, 1997, p. 343). In a sense, technology creates a divide between older and new generations and those who are not technically literate and those who are.
In this day in age, children are raised in a world of technological gadgets, toys, and software. They become proficient at using it because it is normal and familiar to them. There is no denying that technology should own a place in any classroom. It will most likely be challenging for teachers to incorporate technology and use it as both a learning and instructional tool, but it has to be done. If teachers are going to prepare students for the real world, the world outside of school, then it is one of their many duties to teach students how to use technology to its highest capacity.
